Traditional enterprises are fast adapting to digital trends in a bid to carve out a considerable market share on the world wide web. Cloud hosted platforms are one of the most strategic online tools adding value to digital business. E-commerce stores and online gambling sites are two of the biggest sectors benefiting from the advantages by cloud hosting.
There are different web hosting services available and “cloud hosting” adds the value of getting access to different online servers to optimize uptime and balance the enterprise’s workload. This may not sound as a big difference compared to regular hosting but one should not undervalue the competitive advantage cloud hosting gives a business over other firms relying on a single server to centralize their massive output. This is the point of advantage for online-based websites within E-commerce and gambling that handle huge traffic and still promptly execute commands.
Cloud-based hosting relies on a cluster of centralized servers, which means if a single server goes down, another one immediately activates to sustain operations. Cloud service providers buy powerful computer machines and lease space to perform tasks, store data, or host services. A company rents space from a cloud service provider to cut down running expenditure and increase flexibility to scale up and down.
Sometimes, specific computer features required to perform certain tasks might be too expensive and require specialized skills. Therefore, it would be uneconomical to buy machines for such a task only to be used for a limited period. Instead, a business could hire space from a cloud service provider until the task is complete. This would help spend only on what the company uses.
Choosing A Suitable Cloud
Cloud computing has different categories, varying in services and flexibility. The different types of cloud hosting providers allow businesses to choose the most convenient services suited to their specific operational needs.
The most suitable provider should be assessed based on an enterprise’s short term and long term needs and of course, the type of industry. E-commerce websites and online gambling sites with real money transactions in very competitive industries are some of the most server-dependent industries.
Both industries saw growth long before the pandemic but even more so following the lockdown directive influenced by COVID-19. For a smooth online operation involving real time money transactions the website depends on stable servers. Sites involving live bets like sports books and online casinos require super-fast website interphase. Such platforms handle multiple high operation gaming options that need to run seamlessly all the time. Down-time is not only extremely costly for the operator but also a disadvantage to the gambler. As stated by TrueNorth Casinos, a Canadian website reviewing casino sites since 2009, “reviewing the security of online casinos and sports books we take into consideration the sites downtime”. The reason is obvious, you don’t want to get a server error and lose connection to the site just as you are potentially in a winning game. It is by the innovativeness of digital technologies such as cloud hosting that enables stable operations.
4 Types of Clouds And What They Are Used For
Below is a short description of four types of cloud based hosting providers;
- Private Cloud Providers
Private clouds are clouding infrastructure designed for specific businesses and heavily protected against malicious activities. They heavily employ security features such as firewalls and provide guided accessibility to protect crucial data from any third party.
Since owner organizations have to solely use private clouds, the contracting organizations have to incur additional costs that a public cloud user would not. The owner organization controls both infrastructure and software, thus more expensive than other cloud services. They also have to buy more infrastructure when the need arises, hence less flexibility.
- Public Clouds Providers
Public clouds are different from private ones such that they serve a vast number of renters with diverse needs. Public clouds allow anybody to rent space provided they pay for what they use. They also provide a wider range of services adjusted to the different needs of their customer base. A public cloud is preferable for collaborative jobs.
However, the host has full control over the servers and uses privacy policies and the terms and conditions sections to their advantage. Businesses that use public cloud services have limited freedom of shifting to a different provider due to the enormous workload for such a transition.
- Community Cloud Providers
Unlike other cloud types, the community cloud is rarely used owing to less restrictive measures. These types of clouds are privately managed for security and privacy reasons. However, several organizations specializing in the same field share the services. Organizations that use a community cloud have similar security and performance needs. These platforms are not open to the public for hire and are mostly used by health providers and government agencies.
- Hybrid Cloud Providers
Hybrid cloud services offer similar security features to private clouds but have the added diversity of public clouds. This type of cloud combines private and public clouds to store data securely without limiting a company’s potential to serve an expansive market.
Primarily, hybrid clouds store sensitive data behind restrictive firewalls in a private cloud and transfer them to a public cloud on demand. After the cycle is completed, the data is stored back in the private cloud. This architecture is known as cloud-bursting.
The second method does not involve data movement between clouds but instead distributes data to the two types of clouds. Sensitive data is stored in the private cloud while common data is stored in the public one.
There are advantages and disadvantages to consider when choosing what type of cloud to use. Smaller businesses may choose a public cloud and larger enterprises a private cloud due to it’s higher security and cost savings. Community clouds are more costly than a private and since bandwidth and storage is shared with the entire community this type of cloud is not enough for organizations in need of sharing. Hybrid cloud on the other hand has some advantages for testing activities and is used by SEGA, the world leading video game manufacturer for their global testing environment. Choosing the type of cloud to use is a matter of understanding exactly what needs each business and organization has, and there is a cloud for everyone!